West Central Illinois Vision Statement:

Promote business driven talent solutions that integrate education, workforce and economic development resources across systems to provide businesses, individuals and communities with the opportunity to prosper and contribute to growing the region’s economy.

Across the country, communities continue to face challenges in linking job seekers to gainful employment. Innovative solutions are needed to address the skill shortages facing the west central Illinois economy. The Workforce Innovation Board of Western Illinois (WIB) is uniquely positioned to advance systemic workforce development initiatives and has long been successful in this endeavor. In order to expand career opportunities for youth and adults throughout the West Central Economic Development Region (EDR), the WIB will focus its efforts in assuring that all individuals, no matter where they may be on the western Illinois workforce pipeline, have access to multiple career information and/or services.

In order to guarantee that the West Central EDR has a pool of workers readily available to employers, the WIB will continue to analyze future needs of employers, both regionally and locally. To ensure that all in-demand occupations are being addressed and that there is integration and collaboration of services among partners, the WIB will develop a workforce plan for each county within the West Central EDR.

West Central Illinois Goals:

Goal 1: Enhance workforce quality in the West Central EDR (western Illinois) by increasing educational outcomes of K-12 education, ensuring the proper mix of educational, training and support services are available to all members of the community and aligning human capital to the current and emerging economy.

Goal 2: Ensure that the West Central Illinois EDR (western Illinois) has the skilled workforce to meet the needs of regional employers by focusing on recruitment and retention of a skilled workforce, reducing barriers to workforce participation and growing the workforce pipeline.

Goal 3: Expand the employer-driven sector partnerships to increase the focus on critical in-demand occupations in key sectors that are the engine of economic growth for the region, encourage adaptation in the workplace and respond to changing trends.

Goal 4: Create opportunities through career pathways for all individuals in the workforce pipeline to achieve their workforce goals.

Goal 5: Communicate throughout the region and globally, in partnership with economic development, the workforce quality and career opportunities in western Illinois.

For more information contact the Workforce Office of Western Illinois:lwa14@grics.net or (309)344-1575